EXOD1062 Our Sages said (Pesachim 3a), "A person should never utter something unseemly, for the Torah went out of its way [to add] eight letters rather than utter something unseemly, as the pasuk says (Bereishis 7:8), '… and of the animals that are not pure.'" [i.e., instead of writing tamei ["impure"] which is five Hebrew letters, the Torah adds eight letters and writes asher aynah t'horah ["that are not pure"] to avoid using the unseemly word tamei "impure" (Rashi)]. At that time, an impure pure animal [i.e., a non-kosher animal] could be eaten [Rabbeinu Yonah explains in his chidushim on Sanhedrin 59b that although it was forbidden to slaughter and eat animal flesh at this time, if the animal died on its own it could be eaten. (Cf. Rashi, Bereishis 9:3)] but could not be brought as a sacrifice. Therefore, it is considered an unseemly form of speech, deprecating those things that serve as food for man. [Rabbeinu Yonah has resolved the following problem: if the word tamei is unseemly, why does it appear many times in the Torah? His answer is that the word is only unseemly when describing animals fit for human consumption. The word tamei relating to non-kosher animals appears in the Torah only after the prohibition on their consumption at Sinai (Matnas Chelko)]. It follows that a person is obligated to be careful not to utter something unseemly, even if his departure from unseemly language forces him to be wordy and to elaborate more in his discussions. This becomes a kind of safeguard against obscene talk, which is of the more grave transgressions, and also is a safeguard against speaking lashon hara and finding fault with people. As ours Sages, z"l, said (Bava Basra 123a) in respect to keeping far from unseemly speech: "The Torah did not deprecate even an impure animal." Our Sages further said (Pesachim 3b) that in the presence of Rabbi Yochanna ben Zakai one of the Kohanim said, "I received for my portion of the lechem hapanim [i.e., the twelve showbread that were eaten by the Kohanim every Shabbos [this verse; Vayikra 24:5-9] an amount equal to the tale of a lizard." When he examined his genealogy they discovered a taint [in his lineage] [i.e., he was a chalal (Rashi; see Vayikra 21:15), and therefore unfit to be a Kohen. This shows the power of speech to reveal the inner soul (Zeh Hasha'ar). A real Kohen would never speak about the holy lechem hapanim in such a manner].

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EXOD1063 R. Yitzchak said: A leader is not appointed over the people without their first being consulted, as it is written: "See, the Lord has called in the name of Bezalel." The Holy One Blessed be He said to Moses: Moses, is Bezalel acceptable to you? Moses answered: Lord of the Universe, if he is acceptable to You, how much more so is he acceptable to me! Whereupon He responded: Even so, go and tell the Jews (Berachoth 55a).

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EXOD1064 See [[EXOD394]] Exodus 20:9 work AMJV 109

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EXOD1065 See [[EXOD394]] Exodus 20:9 work AMJV 109

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EXOD1066 If someone performs an unnecessary service for us, we should be considerate of his feelings. The people were asked to contribute to material necessary for building the Sanctuary. With great enthusiasm, they responded with the various items that were needed. When the men in charge of the collection reported to Moshe that they were receiving an abundance of material, Moshe commanded the people to suspend further work on their offerings. Sforno notes that Moshe did not instruct that the people should not bring any more items, but that they should discontinue doing additional work. Some of the people had already completed doing work for the Sanctuary and had they been told not to bring with they had already prepared, they would have been most disappointed. Moshe, therefore, worded his announcement in a manner that would not cost them anguish. (Shaar bas Rabim, on this verse). If someone does something for you which ultimately proves to have been superfluous, be considerate of his feelings. Do not tell him that his efforts were not actually needed, since this will cause him needless disappointment.

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EXOD1067 See [[GEN1466]] Genesis 37:32 examine FREUND 87-8

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EXOD1068 From here it is derived that although reliable overseers of charity are not closely supervised, still, it is good that they give an accounting; as we find with Moses our teacher, who gave an account of the contributions to the tabernacle, as it is written [this verse]. (Bach, Yoreh Deah 257).

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EXOD1069 See [[EXOD1008]] Exodus 33:8 gaze SACKS 145-6

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EXOD1070 See [[NUM214]] Numbers 16:15 taken SACKS 146-7

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EXOD1071 See [[GEN1466]] Genesis 37:32 examine FREUND 87-8

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